Antman's answer is a very good.As a non Chinese learning it , I could add some observations.There is no identical equivalent to the English "Yes" and "No", but there are several words and expressions to affirm or negate a statement such as:

*是的 shideIt means " Yes" .

*对 duiIt means "right" to affirm a statement or confirm it .It could be substituted by "yes" in English.